


Another Bad Title

by AnonymousSpacePrince



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Emotional Dex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, Homesickness, Hugs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-24 05:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10734729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousSpacePrince/pseuds/AnonymousSpacePrince
Summary: One of Dex's cousins had sprained their ankle jumping out of a tree. Another had just gotten a piece of poetry published in her school magazine. Dex made a mental note to tell Nursey about that.A phone call from home is a little too much for Dex when he's already feeling tired and off. Count on Nursey to notice his splotchy cheeks and try to help.





	Another Bad Title

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a few days ago and it's taken a while to post. I've been having some writer's block and even more trouble liking my own writing enough to soundly edit and post any of it. Hopefully this won't last long, but I'm gonna do my best to keep posting regardless. There's lots of stuff in the works right now, and I won't let my depression put it on hold any more than I can help.
> 
> Anyway, this fic was sort of to vent at first, but I really like the way it came out. At this point I'm just gonna post it instead of reading it over for the fifth time because reasonably I know it's good enough to post, so let me know if there are any mistakes or errors. I don't really like the ending, but I can't think of anything else to add so I'm leaving it as-is.

    "Whoa, Dexy, are you okay?" Nursey's voice is soft with concern when Dex walks into their room.

 

    _Twenty minutes prior, Dex got a call from his mother. He was happy to receive it, since he hadn't been in the best mindset lately, and answered on the first ring. Her voice was bright and cheery on the other line, and it sounded like home from miles away._

 

    "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Dex responds, going for nonchalance. He flops down on the bottom bunk. It's Nursey's bed, but Nursey is in a beanbag on the floor, so Dex finds no reason to not sit here.

 

    _The conversation started nicely. Dex caught his mother up on what was going on at school and in his personal life, and she caught him up on what he was missing at home. One of his cousins had sprained their ankle jumping out of a tree. Another had just gotten a piece of poetry published in her school magazine. Dex made a mental note to tell Nursey about that._

 

    "Your face just looks kinda splotchy like you've been crying," Nursey says, still watching Dex with that gentle, concerned expression. It's not far off from his usual chill, but the brows above his half-lidded eyes are furrowed, and the corners of his mouth curve softly downwards instead of up. Dex looks away.

 

    _The conversation about home slowly dwindled, until there wasn't much to be said. Dex talked to his mom every couple weeks, often more, so their conversations never were too long. "Your father and I miss you, baby," his mom said. Her voice was so gentle under the words that Dex's chest ached._

_"I miss you guys too," he said. "A lot."_

 

    "Why would I have been crying?" Dex scoffs.

    Nursey gives him a doubtful look, a slight narrowing of his eyes and an incline of his head. "There are lots of reasons to cry. Why are you evading?"

 

    _"Are you okay, honey?"_

_"Yeah, yeah," Dex assured her. "I will be; don't worry about me, okay?"_

_"I'm always gonna worry, Will; I'm your mother." Her tone was deadpan and blunt, and Dex could picture the look on her face, solid but soft, and just a little amused._

_Dex laughed softly. "Okay, well don't worry any more than usual. I'll be fine."_

_"Okay, I trust you."_

_"I've gotta go, Mom," Dex said. "Can't use too many minutes."_

_"Okay, sweetheart. Have a good day and tell Derek and Chris I said hello. Oh! And tell Eric the pie he sent last week was delicious! Your dad and brother and I finished it in two days."_

_"Will do, Ma."_

_"Awesome. Okay, sweetie, I love you; I'll text you soon."_

_"Okay. I love you too, Mom."_

 

    "I'm not evading," Dex says, though it's a lie and they both know it. "My mom says hello." Dex refuses to let himself feel like crying again. He still feels it, but at least no tears form.

    "When did you talk to your mom?"

    "A few minutes ago."

    "Before or after the crying?"

    Dex glares, but he knows it isn't giving off any heat. Nursey doesn't waver. Dex gives in. "Before."

 

    _After ending the phone call, Dex stared down at the screen of his phone that held the contact picture for a moment. It was a selfie he and his mom had taken the last time he'd been home on break. They were both smiling wide, with their arms thrown over each others' shoulders and their heads pressed together to fit into the shot. Dex nearly has a whole foot on his mom, but he'd bent down for the picture so they were on the same level._

_He felt a little teary, so he stepped into the bathroom to splash some cool water on his face. As soon as he got the door closed and made eye contact with himself in the mirror, Dex burst into tears. It wasn't a surprise. He'd been on the edge for days prior, and had nearly burst into tears a couple times already. Now, though, sobs wracked through his body._

_Dex threw his phone to the counter, thankful for the case, and buried his face in his hands, slumping down until his elbows touched the counter top. He tried to keep quiet, to avoid anyone hearing, but the noise was still loud in the small room. Dex felt kind of pathetic, as he always did when he broke down like that. It didn't happen very often, but it always made him feel weak like nothing else ever could._

_He just couldn't help it. He missed his mom so much. His whole family, but nobody as much as his mom. He knew if she was there, she'd talk him through his negative emotions and give him a big, long hug that would glue his collapsing pieces back together. The thing about being on a hockey team is that there isn't much softness. They hug sometimes, sure. On the ice after goals, and even during kegsters or when something really good happens, but they're always brief, rough bro hugs. Dex doesn't really have good friends outside of the hockey team, and he certainly wasn't involved romantically with anybody. He just wanted a good, long hug, but had nobody to give him one._

_So Dex cried hard, into his hands, then his forearms resting against the cool counter. Eventually he sunk to the floor and cried with his head against the cabinet, and he felt pathetic the whole time but he couldn't stop. He shook, listening to his own ragged breath and aching cries, until the storm finally settled enough to allow him back to his feet. Dex stood up and splashed some water on his face. Once he looked and felt a modicum of calm and put-together, he walked out, and headed into his and Nursey's room._

 

    Nursey gets up from the beanbag, leaving his book behind, and sits beside Dex on the bed. "Why were you crying, Dex?" He asks, so gently, so easily, it makes Dex want to cry again.

    "I just..." He pauses, contemplates. He debates whether to tell the whole truth or only part of it. Before he can decide for sure, the whole truth starts spilling from his lips, each word rapidly following the last. "I haven't been in a good place the past couple weeks, and I've just been overtired and oversensitive, and then my mom called and made me think about how much I miss home. It's just a little too much, I guess, and I think I'll be okay but right now I'm not, and I just wish my mom was here to hug me because nobody ever fucking hugs me, and-" Dex stops when Nursey wraps his arms around him.

    It's not the smoothest thing in the world, because they're sitting down and not quite facing each other, but Nursey pulls Dex in tight and holds him there, and it's so nice. Dex is surprised, at first, but he settles into it and wraps his arms around Nursey's waist, letting his chin rest on Nursey's shoulder and his eyes close.

    Nursey holds Dex as close as he can with their knees in the way, and Dex feels a lot of the tension slowly run out of him. His arms tighten around Nursey, and Nursey's thumb brushes smooth and consistent against the top of Dex's right shoulder. Dex's back aches from the angle, but right now he'd break all his bones if it meant not having to pull away.

    "Nobody ever hugs me either," Nursey whispers, and it comes across as solidarity rather than an excuse.

    Dex inhales, finding his breath coming easier now. Nursey doesn't tend to wear cologne or anything unless he's going out somewhere, but he smells like tropical fabric softener and the coconut conditioner he uses. It's pleasant and comforting, and Dex finds himself chasing the scent more than the oxygen with every inhale.

    They hug for what must be ten minutes (almost that much, at least), just sitting silently with each other wrapped up tight in their arms. It should probably be weird, but it isn't. When they eventually pull apart, it's because Dex's back finally starts hurting too much for him to tolerate. He tells Nursey as much, arching back to stretch out his muscles. When he sits back upright, Nursey smiles at him and says, "it's chill."

    "Thank you," Dex says. A part of his mind understands how important it is that Nursey knows just how appreciative he is.

    "Any time," Nursey says, maybe too casually for the moment, for what Dex is saying.

    "I mean it," Dex insists. "I... haven't been doing well lately, and I really needed that. I- You really helped me, so thank you."

    "I mean it too," Nursey says, leaning forward just the tiniest bit, in Dex's space but not nearly as much as when they were hugging. It feels closer, though, somehow. "My arms are always open for you, Dex."

    Dex kisses Nursey then, sudden and quick. He barely presses his lips to Nursey's- they line up perfectly despite the rush of Dex's movement- before pulling back away and cursing. "Shit, I'm sorry." God, why did he do that? What was he thinking?

    Nursey's hand touches Dex's cheek, and Dex looks him in the eye. "It's okay," Nursey says. "You can do it again, if you want."

    Dex's heart kicks in his chest. Does he want to kiss Nursey again? His eyes flick down to Nursey's lips, and then Dex closes his eyes and leans in. He hears Nursey's little surprised inhale, then Nursey's lips meet the press of Dex's own. It's not quick, like the first one. Nursey keeps Dex where he is with nothing but his fingers on his cheek, and their lips move towards and away from each other softly, like the tiniest ocean waves lap onto the shore. Delicately, but certainly.

    There's nothing hot about it, it's only sweet, and it gives Dex butterflies every time Nursey's lips press to, between, against his. It's not long before they pull away, and Dex's eyes flutter slowly open to see Nursey smiling softly at him. His fingertips aren't burning, but rather, cool, against Dex's cheek. Surely Dex's entire face is red now, from more than the crying, and he has the thought that fire can fight fire, under the right circumstances.

**Author's Note:**

> _During Dex's next phone call home, the next week, he assures his mom that he's really doing much better now, smiling at Nursey across the room as he says it._
> 
>  
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed! I'm really doing my best here, but if I stop posting for a little while, don't fret as I'll do my best to get back to it as soon as I possibly can.


End file.
